Recorded Stories of Black Alumnae Will Culminate in Podcast Series and Live Online Conversations This Fall
(Amherst, Mass., April 7, 2021) President Biddy Martin announced today an exciting project that will feature Amherst’s Black alumnae, illuminating their distinctive and influential contributions to the College and the wider world, while also bringing their varied experiences and perspectives to light.
Black alumnae of the College are invited to record recollections of their experiences at Amherst. Then, this fall, they will join together for a series of live online conversations open to all alumni; current students, faculty and staff; and potential students to talk, share, learn and enjoy the stories and achievements of these remarkable women.
The inspiration for the project is the 1999 book Black Women of Amherst College, by the late Mavis C. Campbell, professor emerita of history at the College. The new project will draw on Professor Campbell’s work, as well as ongoing research into the College’s history and information gathered directly from Amherst alumnae.
The vision for the project came from a team of producers led by two Amherst alumni: Nichelle S. Carr ’98, a producer, former film studio executive, international lawyer and chief content officer at AudPop, and Jason Gill ‘97, co-founder and chief operating officer at the live-streaming company Zeldavision. Both specialize in bringing stories to life using emerging technologies and a mix of media platforms. Their plan for this particular project is ambitious. It invites—and it also depends on—the participation and openness of our Black alumnae.
In describing the idea for the project, Carr talked about her own journey to Amherst, which began on an East Coast college tour with her West Coast high-school classmates. “Of all the colleges we visited, the only college that had a Black tour guide was Amherst College.”
She then recalled moving into her first-year dorm and encountering the parent of a classmate who “froze" upon realizing that her daughter would be “sharing a room with a Black person.” Carr said she learned in that moment to wear a “mask” to protect and defend herself.
“But what was it protecting me from? What was it defending against? How was it helping me cope? What was I coping with? And how was I coping? Those are the stories we want to tell with ‘Black Women of Amherst College.’”
The work will be guided by an on-campus steering committee that includes: Rhonda Cobham-Sander, the Emily C. Jordan Folger Professor of Black Studies and English; Martin Garnar, library director; Sandy Genelius, chief communications officer; Khary Polk, associate professor of Black studies and sexuality, women's and gender studies; Bett Schumacher, chief of staff and secretary of the Board of Trustees; and Victoria Wilson, associate director for internship programs.
To learn more about this project and, most importantly, how you can be a part of it, please visit the Black Women of Amherst webpage on the Amherst College website.